So after an encouraging first night, things got a little frustrating with my second attempt.

I decided that M13 would be a good target. It's bright and easy to find, and it's well in the range of my equipment.

However, focussing became a real problem. It's my own fault really - I ignored people's warnings of 'you can't focus well through the camera's viewfinder', thinking I knew better.

Of course, all I got was blobs! The difficulty stems from the fact that even quite unfocussed images can look alright, when they're dimmed down by the glass in the viewfinder. So now I know...

Anyway, a quick entry into astrojargon.com and a snip or two with some scissors, and I've a nice homemade Bhatinov mask. Will test it ASAIOOTMLPM (As Soon As I'm Out Of The Massively Light Polluted Midlands.)